


The Red Edge

by slashyrogue



Series: Radiance [3]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Writers, Coffee Shops, I Know Nothing About Real Book Making, M/M, Suspension Of Disbelief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 12:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11463507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashyrogue/pseuds/slashyrogue
Summary: Will saw it in the window of Barnes & Noble.The title was as Hannibal said it would be, TRAGIC HEART, but the design was the exact same as Will's book RADIANCE which would be coming out in a few months time.The cover photo was different but the color the same and the RED EDGING.THE RED EDGING.The last in a series of fics I wrote to promote Radiance Anthology





	The Red Edge

Will saw it in the window of Barnes & Noble. 

The title was as Hannibal said it would be, TRAGIC HEART, but the design was the exact same as Will's book RADIANCE which would be coming out in a few months time. 

The cover photo was different but the color the same and the RED EDGING. 

THE RED EDGING. 

Will hadn't seen Hannibal in the coffee shop for nearly two weeks as they both readied for their upcoming promotional appearances. He'd thought nothing of it, they didn't exactly run in the same circles but he missed Hannibal a bit. 

Now he wanted Hannibal's head on a goddamn platter. 

Will dialed him as he walked into the bookstore, picked up a copy and waited to get Hannibal on the line to no avail. 

"Hello, Hannibal. I'm holding a copy of Tragic Heart and it looks EXACTLY like Radiance will in a few months and I want some answers. Please call me back."

He called repeatedly over the next week in between a screaming angry call from his own publisher who assured him they had things under control and they had no idea how this happened. 

His calls were ignored by Hannibal and he cursed himself for not knowing more about the man he'd been so stupid to share his mockups with. They'd gotten along, really more than, but for some reason never beyond the coffee shop. 

Will didn't know what would make Hannibal do this. 

Jealousy? 

The man was on his second novel, he didn't need to steal spotlight from Will's first. 

Will couldn't help the disappointment at being played. 

Was the whole thing a ruse? 

He finally broke when he was told his novel's look had to be changed, the colors all completely different and it looked nothing like the perfect picture Will had anticipated. But his agent Beverly told him to just shut up and take it. 

"There will be other books."

Will didn't disagree, but this would be the only first one he ever had. That's when he decided to crash Hannibal's book signing. 

He was in the same Barnes & Noble the following week when Will stormed past the line and up to the table. 

The security guards all got in close when Will yelled, "RED EDGING!?" 

Hannibal stood up and gestured for them to back off. 

"Will it's lovely to see you."

Will laughed. "Is it? Why haven't you returned my messages? Oh wait! You were too busy stealing things from me! Red edging, Hannibal?!?"

"I really think it's more of mauve."

When Will punched him the guards swarmed in and held him back from doing it again. He didn't fight being kicked out and the manager said he was banned from that particular store from then on. 

Bev called him not long after while Will stared at a blinking cursor in the same coffee shop where Hannibal Lecter had ruined his book. 

"Don't even yell at me."

"I'm not," she sighed, "Lecter called me to apologize and offer up any monies that he could for the cover change."

Will laughed. "What the hell kind of game is he playing?"

"He sounded sincere," she said softly. 

Will couldn't help but imagine things as they'd been just weeks ago, Hannibal across from him with his know it all smirk. It felt like he'd been duped the entire time.

"Fuck him."

Beverly sighed. "So I'm supposed to say no?"

Will closed his eyes. "Take his money I don't care. I just want it known he's banned from any signings I have. You can tell him that."

"Okay, Graham. To be fair, I think I could guess why he did it? I mean have you ever read your stuff? It's great."

"Bev..."

"And what you told me of Lecter he seemed pretty into it too, kinda into you maybe?"

"So he had to steal the way my book looked? Cuz he liked it so much?"

He took a sip of his whiskey and it burned all the way down his throat. 

"Maybe he--"

"I gotta go, Bev," Will said thickly, tears in his eyes, "Do what you have to do."

Hannibal called him an infinite amount of times in the following months, even came to see him but Will didn't answer the door. He left a bottle of wine that Will didn't have the heart to break outside the door and a note he burned before reading. 

He burned all his mockups of RADIANCE too, the original design almost too painful to look at. 

When his book did come out months later the reviews were glowing but the sales pretty average. Bev said they'd get better, but he watched the book barely skate onto the best sellers list only to disappear a week later while TRAGIC HEART stayed firmly in the top three. 

Will had read it after a few months and hated how it had gotten even better than the draft he'd held the year before. 

"Damn you."

A new novel was announced from Hannibal three months after RADIANCE, and the book's title had everyone buzzing. 

THE RED EDGE 

Beverly called him almost immediately and Will didn't answer, his anger rose with each new article he read and by the end of that week Will texted Hannibal. 

'I need to see you.'

The answer was immediate. 

'The coffee shop.'

Will didn't know how someone so infamous now could even go out in public like that but he agreed. 

Hannibal sat at their table with a coffee in hand with a computer bag at his side. He looked up when Will entered and his smile made Will want to punch him again. 

"I would say it's lovely to see you but I do not wish to be accosted again."

Will said nothing. He noticed there was a cup for him there already but his stomach hurt he didn't touch it.

"I know you're quite cross with me."

Will laughed. "Cross? I was cross with Buster for pissing on the rug. I'm fucking devastated. You have no idea--"

"I have every idea," Hannibal confessed, "I...my behavior was abysmal. I let petty jealousies overtake me and I--"

Will laughed. "Jealousies? Hannibal you're a literary darling! You don't need to be jealous of me! And the new one? The Red Edge? Are you just openly trying to piss me off?"

Hannibal's frown deepened. "I was inspired by our plight, it seemed fitting."

Will stood up. "That's it, I'm done. You keep doing whatever the fuck you want and I'll stay as far as I can away. Have a nice life."

He moved to leave and felt his cheeks flush when he noticed several people staring. The need to escape made him rush and nearly fall if not for Hannibal's sudden grip on his wrist. 

"Before you go," he reached into his bag and handed Will what looked like a wrapped book. 

"I don't want your--"

"Please."

Will grabbed the gift and left without a word, his anger so bad he felt like he'd be sick any second. The cool air felt nice on his face when he finally got outside, and the walk back to his car he could barely see for his tears. 

He angrily ripped off the wrapping on the gift and gasped out loud at what was inside. 

It wasn't TRAGIC HEART. 

It was RADIANCE. 

Just like he'd envisioned, right down to the red edging. Will's hands shook as he opened it and the inscription inside made him melt. 

Will, 

A year ago I walked into a coffee house and fell in love with your smile even before you mesmerized me with your words. The prospect of the world getting to read them had me writhing with jealousy and I did something inexcusable. I apologize from the bottom of my heart, a heart that beats only for you and always will. 

Hannibal 

Will wiped his face, his anger suddenly gone in a rush. 

"You fucking idiot."

"Will."

He turned and Hannibal stood there, and his face was a mess of emotion that Will had never seen from him till now. 

"You're so stupid."

"I know."

Will walked in closer and grabbed his chin. "You're in love with me?"

"For quite some time."

Will scoffed. "We never even met outside the coffee shop, we--"

"I never needed to be anywhere else. You were comfortable there and I--"

Will kissed him hard, the force of it almost bruising, and felt Hannibal shudder in his embrace. He barely held on to RADIANCE as it fell along with Hannibal's bag to the pavement. 

They parted to catch their breaths, cheeks flushed and hearts racing. 

"I won't say it back yet," Will countered, "You don't deserve to hear it."

Hannibal frowned. "I suppose not."

"And I get to choose the design of The Red Edge."

Hannibal nodded. "Yes, I suppose you should."

Will bent down and picked up both his book. He was sad seeing the design, but still was glad to finally have it in his hands as intended. "It really does look perfect."

"I am sorry I took it from you."

"I know."

Will grabbed his hand and they walked toward his car, no more words needed. 

A year later when The Red Edge came out, it was brown and had no red edges. 

It was an instant bestseller. 

The dedication inside Will had framed. 

To Will, who brought this book and me to life again. Thank you for letting me bask in your radiance.


End file.
